This victory, which improved the Angels record to 92-64, didn’t require much effort. Los Angeles was up 3-0 after one inning and 8-0 after four innings. Eventually, the Angels claimed an 11-0 win over the Rangers.

Ervin Santana, who struggled for most of the season, was very good on Monday as he pitched a 7-hit shutout while only walking one batter. The outing improved his record to 8-8 and lowered his ERA to 5.10.

The offensive production came largely from Vladimir Guerrero and Kendry Morales. Guerreero was 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs, while Morales hit a two-run homer in the first inning to get the Angels off on the right foot.

As for the Rangers, while they are still technically alive, there season is realistically over. Although they put up a good fight, they have too many injured players and too many slumping bats to make a legit run at the AL Wild Card race at this point.

Los Angeles Angels Celebrate Clinching Division (Image: Zuma PresS)

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Los Angeles Angels Clinch AL West

Kelvim Escobar Returns (Image: Zuma Press)

Shoulder surgery is the reason why he’s missed so much time. He didn’t pitch at all in 2008 and missed the beginning of this season while still recovering.

In 2007, Escobar was one of the best pitchers in the American League. In 30 starts, the native of Venezuela had an 18-7 record to go along with a 3.40 ERA.

Now 33 years old, Escobar has a lot to prove. In recent comments, he says that he feels healthy and wants to help his team.

If Escobar can return to the top of his game, that’d be a huge boost for the Angels. Currently, L.A. is 4.5 games behind the Texas Rangers in the American League West. Last season, the Angeles had the best record in baseball at 100-62. This year, their record is 26-25.

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Kelvim Escobar to Return for the Angels

After going without a hit in his first three at-bats, Hamilton came to the plate in the seventh inning with the game tied 1-1. With one swing, Hamilton put the Rangers up 3-1 when he hit a homer against the Seattle Mariners. Texas never trailed again and beat Seattle by a final count of 7-1.

Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers (Image: Newscom)

The Rangers have now sit in first place in the AL West after winning eight of their last ten games. At 18-14, Texas has outscored their opponents by 21 runs, which is the third largest margin in the American League behind the Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox.

If Hamilton can find the swing that made him such a story last season, he could help lead the Rangers to the playoffs for one of the few times in team history.

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Josh Hamilton Returns with a Bang